Reserving the £28,000 Model 3 in-store will get the car delivered to you sooner.

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Updated: The Tesla Model 3 has now been unveiled. As of late Thursday night, March 31, more than 135,000 reservations had already been placed for the new £28,000/$35,000 Model 3. It's safe to say that if you haven't already reserved you will most likely be waiting well into 2018 or 2019 for your Model 3 to be delivered.

Original story

On March 31, Elon Musk will finally unveil the Model 3, an electric car that will have a range of around 200 miles while only costing around £28,000 ($35,000). If you include the UK government subsidy for plug-in cars with a range of at least 70 miles, the total price could come down to £23,500. At roughly half the price of the Model S or Model X, demand for the Model 3 is expected to be very high. If you want to get your hands on a Model 3 as soon as possible, you need to be near the top of the reservation list. Here's how to do just that.

How to reserve a Tesla Model 3

Reservations for the Model 3 begin on March 31, and you can reserve in two ways: at a Tesla store, or using an online form. You can reserve a Model 3 at a Tesla showroom as soon as it opens on the morning of March 31, but the online form (available from the Tesla.com homepage) won't be available until 20:30 PDT (04:30 BST April 1) that evening. Thus, if you go along to your nearest Tesla showroom in the morning, your reservation will be further up the list.

In the UK there are Tesla showrooms dotted around London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, and Edinburgh. In the US, there's a Tesla store near most major cities. For continental Europe, check the Tesla store locator.

To reserve a Model 3 you'll have to put down a deposit of £1,000, or roughly that amount in your local currency ($1,000, €1,000, 8,000 RMB, 10,000 NOK, etc). This reservation payment is fully refundable if you decide to cancel your reservation—or, rather generously, you can also shift your £1,000 over to the purchase of a Model S or Model X if you want. The Model X requires a much larger reservation payment of £5,000/$5,000 which probably gives you some indication of the Model 3's target market.

Tesla says there will be a different reservation queue in each region for the Model 3, and that current Tesla owners will get priority in each region. Employees have already been able to reserve the Tesla Model 3 since March 17.

So, basically, for the best chance of receiving a Model 3 in 2017, turn up at your local Tesla store before it opens on March 31.

When will you receive your Model 3?

Even if you're quite high up the reservation list, you will still have to wait a while to actually receive your car. Production of the Model 3 is scheduled to begin in late 2017. Deliveries will start soon after that, beginning with the west coast of the US and moving eastwards as production ramps up, eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries.

If you're in the UK and near the top of the reservation queue, you might get a Model 3 sometime in 2018 if you're lucky. Otherwise, it's probably 2019.

The Model 3 will be a very important car, both for Tesla and the entire automotive industry. While the Model S is a high-end car that was designed to sell tens of thousands per year, the Model 3 is a mass-market car that wants to compete with the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, and other mid-market sedans that shift hundreds of thousands of units per year.

To do so, Tesla needs to bring down the cost of the Model 3's battery pack—that's what the Gigafactory is for—and ensure that worldwide EV recharging infrastructure is developed enough that those millions of Model 3 owners don't suffer from range anxiety.

We'll be at the March 31 event and will update this story with photos and other details. There will also reportedly be some early test drives of the Model 3 at the event, which should give us some indication of how high up the BMW 3 Series/Audi A4 food chain Tesla is aiming.

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Sebastian Anthony
Sebastian is the editor of Ars Technica UK. He usually writes about low-level hardware, software, and transport, but it is emerging science and the future of technology that really get him excited. Emailsebastian@arstechnica.co.uk//Twitter@mrseb

21 Reader Comments

Our car's lease is up in 2 and a half years so i'm seriously considering pre-ordering - especially when combined with the probabilities of delays.It all depends on the demand and how well tesla scale the production of this car.

eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries

You mean left-hand-drive countries, right?

I wouldn't think that production for left-hand-drive countries is particularly noteworthy when you're starting in a country that's left-hand-drive. It's understandable for right-hand-drive to come later.

Our car's lease is up in 2 and a half years so i'm seriously considering pre-ordering - especially when combined with the probabilities of delays.It all depends on the demand and how well tesla scale the production of this car.

Judging from previous models demand its safe to assume the demand will be higher given the fact that the price will be much much lower. I'd order a model 3 right away if I my country had charging stations. Till then I'm stuck in stone age with my dinosaur powered engine.

Our car's lease is up in 2 and a half years so i'm seriously considering pre-ordering - especially when combined with the probabilities of delays.It all depends on the demand and how well tesla scale the production of this car.

Aye, considering it's just £1,000 to reserve, and it's refundable... I am quite tempted to plunk down some cash as well.

Is there any info on what you get for the £28,000 starting price and what upgrades are available above that? Sorely tempted to register on Thursday, as although I'm on the fence at the moment the thought of maybe deciding in 6 months I want one but the queue streteches into 2020 is not pleasant.

If ever I have the need/disposable income to own a car a Tesla is so far the only one I'd seriously consider. Here's hoping the EV market keeps growing so I have even more to choose from when that day comes around.

eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries

You mean left-hand-drive countries, right?

I wouldn't think that production for left-hand-drive countries is particularly noteworthy when you're starting in a country that's left-hand-drive. It's understandable for right-hand-drive to come later.

The article may be written by a UK author, but right-hand-drive production begins first because the first deliveries are in the USA. At least, this is what the rest of the article says in no uncertain terms.

Production of the Model 3 is scheduled to begin in late 2017. Deliveries will start soon after that, beginning with the west coast of the US and moving eastwards as production ramps up, eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries.If you're in the UK and near the top of the reservation queue, you might get a Model 3 sometime in 2018 if you're lucky. Otherwise, it's probably 2019.

The article may be written by a UK author, but right-hand-drive production begins first because the first deliveries are in the USA. At least, this is what the rest of the article says in no uncertain terms.

Production of the Model 3 is scheduled to begin in late 2017. Deliveries will start soon after that, beginning with the west coast of the US and moving eastwards as production ramps up, eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries.If you're in the UK and near the top of the reservation queue, you might get a Model 3 sometime in 2018 if you're lucky. Otherwise, it's probably 2019.

Amusingly you still mean left-hand-drive (even the extract you quote implies that by referring to eventually serving RHD countries, the opposite of LHD countries such as the USA). left hand drive refers to the side of the car you sit in, not the side of the road you drive on. You simply don't understand what the term means. (Amusingly I've seen the same mistake made on a number of US based travel sites also make the same mistake).

Judging from previous models demand its safe to assume the demand will be higher given the fact that the price will be much much lower. I'd order a model 3 right away if I my country had charging stations. Till then I'm stuck in stone age with my dinosaur powered engine.

You can charge up at home too. The question then becomes, how often do you drive more than a 200mile round trip? Without knowing where your live I can't comment on public chargers, but check Plugshare.com and you may be pleasantly surprised as to how many are around.

eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries

You mean left-hand-drive countries, right?

I wouldn't think that production for left-hand-drive countries is particularly noteworthy when you're starting in a country that's left-hand-drive. It's understandable for right-hand-drive to come later.

The article may be written by a UK author, but right-hand-drive production begins first because the first deliveries are in the USA. At least, this is what the rest of the article says in no uncertain terms.

Production of the Model 3 is scheduled to begin in late 2017. Deliveries will start soon after that, beginning with the west coast of the US and moving eastwards as production ramps up, eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries.If you're in the UK and near the top of the reservation queue, you might get a Model 3 sometime in 2018 if you're lucky. Otherwise, it's probably 2019.

"Right Hand Drive" and "Left Hand Drive" refer to the position of the steering wheel in the car, not which side of the road the car drives on.

As far as I know, Myanmar is the only country which has right hand drive cars, in which traffic also drives on the right hand side of the road.

The article may be written by a UK author, but right-hand-drive production begins first because the first deliveries are in the USA. At least, this is what the rest of the article says in no uncertain terms.

Production of the Model 3 is scheduled to begin in late 2017. Deliveries will start soon after that, beginning with the west coast of the US and moving eastwards as production ramps up, eventually hopping over the Atlantic to Europe, APAC, and right-hand-drive countries.If you're in the UK and near the top of the reservation queue, you might get a Model 3 sometime in 2018 if you're lucky. Otherwise, it's probably 2019.

Amusingly you still mean left-hand-drive (even the extract you quote implies that by referring to eventually serving RHD countries, the opposite of LHD countries such as the USA). left hand drive refers to the side of the car you sit in, not the side of the road you drive on. You simply don't understand what the term means. (Amusingly I've seen the same mistake made on a number of US based travel sites also make the same mistake).

I went to the Oxford Street showroom to put down my deposit. I was given a map and directed to a hotel meeting room round the corner. When I got there there were two representatives from Tesla with laptops taking deposits. You can reserve a maximum of 2. There were about half a dozen people there and probably another twenty outside in the lobby. There was no queue as such so it wasn't clear who was going to be next in line. The hotel staff were starting to get a bit frustrated as they felt there was a little bit lacking in terms of organisation. Perhaps Tesla didn't think that many people would be coming.

I went to the Oxford Street showroom to put down my deposit. I was given a map and directed to a hotel meeting room round the corner. When I got there there were two representatives from Tesla with laptops taking deposits. You can reserve a maximum of 2. There were about half a dozen people there and probably another twenty outside in the lobby. There was no queue as such so it wasn't clear who was going to be next in line. The hotel staff were starting to get a bit frustrated as they felt there was a little bit lacking in terms of organisation. Perhaps Tesla didn't think that many people would be coming.

Hmmm. Surprising. It was very well staffed and highly organised in Copenhagen...

I went to the Oxford Street showroom to put down my deposit. I was given a map and directed to a hotel meeting room round the corner. When I got there there were two representatives from Tesla with laptops taking deposits. You can reserve a maximum of 2. There were about half a dozen people there and probably another twenty outside in the lobby. There was no queue as such so it wasn't clear who was going to be next in line. The hotel staff were starting to get a bit frustrated as they felt there was a little bit lacking in terms of organisation. Perhaps Tesla didn't think that many people would be coming.